“…there is no attempt at solutions in Playback, for solutions reflect judgment and advice-giving.”
Jonathan Fox, Acts of Service. Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the Nonscripted
Theatre. New Paltz, NY: Tusitala Publishing, 1994. p.50
Definition
The Improv Dictionary has now been on the shelves for over a year, and one of the negatives of moving this resource into print is that other concepts have invariably bubbled up that seem worthy of inclusion in that taxonomy. Who knows if I’ll ever commit to the arduous task of a second edition; but regardless, I’ve enjoyed these improv deep dives and hope other improvisers and instructors will find some value in my musings too. So, here’s the first entry in what will be likely be a loose series of infrequent additions to my dictionary in progress as I loiter around a various letter for a month or so.
Advice on the improv stage strikes me as having a great deal in common with transactional and teaching scenes. Yes, these dynamics are certainly a part of life and a part of the theatrical canon from which so many of us gain inspiration. I would posit that advice and confidant scenes are probably much more prevalent in scripted theatre than these other two devices as protagonists often utilize sounding boards to determine their paths forward. When this dialogue becomes improvised, however, this dynamic can tend to decrease energy and momentum rather than launch your characters onward, especially if players approach advice giving in less-than-interesting ways. And, as Boal notes, advice has a potentially complex relationship with judgment and, in turn, can steer players towards solutions which are invariably much less interesting than deepening and complicating problems and challenges.
Example
Players A and B sit in their dorm room as A nervously looks at a text chain on their phone.
Player A: “I just don’t know what I should do. I think they like me…”
Player B: (kindly) “Let me see the message. You two would make a great couple. We’ll figure out together what you should do next…”
A talking scene ensues…
Advice for Advisers and Confidants
While it can feel pleasant to give good advice onstage, this will often lead you into the rather uninteresting territory of “nice people doing nice things.” Instead, consider…
1.) Give bad advice. This sounds a little tongue-in-cheek, but you’ll be surprised by the creative power of this approach. Good advice can tend to methodically (and anticlimactically) weigh all options, and suggest a measured, or even glacial, progression toward your eventual outcome. Bad advice, contrarily, can promote risk-taking and offer delightfully unpredictable excursions from the status quo. Depending on your preferred form and style, you might opt for subtly bad advice (kitchen sink realism) or wildly terrible counseling (absurd comedies or highly stylized pieces). But if you’re going to give advice, offering up something more provocative than “Try to sit beside them in your next class” can launch you into exciting new story constellations. “You should drop all your other classes and just follow them to theirs…”
2.) Give selfish advice. One of the major traps of advice scenes, especially in long-form pieces that consist of a reasonably limited set of characters, is that the advice giver often becomes little more than a mouthpiece for their partner’s journey. Perhaps the advisee takes the advice (in which case we have already largely discussed the likely outcome, thus robbing it of its excitement and surprise) or the advice is ignored (in which case the advising scene can feel like it could have been edited from the dramatic arc entirely if you’re not careful). When the adviser has some skin in the game, the heat of the resulting scene typically improves, as does the likelihood that both characters will emerge with something dynamic going on. If Player B is in love with Player A (or the currently unnamed Player C), then any subsequent advice will crackle with an ulterior motive. “No, I think you’re reading into the message. They’ve definitely put you in the friend zone.”
3.) Give active advice. Whether the advice is good, bad, or selfish, err on the side of offering active next steps. Perhaps the only thing less helpful than an advice scene is a whole string of advice or talking heads scenes in a row because a central character isn’t actively pursuing their objective in visible and meaningful ways. So, if in doubt, when you’re wearing the adviser’s hat, nudge your scene partner towards doing something rather than remaining in stasis or the status quo. Using the example above, ignoring the possibilities of the potentially amorous text will probably keep everyone in the current routine. Viewing the text as an invitation to (even gently) shake up the world as we know it will chisel new steps in what will hopefully become a bracing rising action. “You’ve been looking at that text for days now. Give me your phone. I’m texting back…”
4.) Give advice actively. In my experience, the challenge of advice scenes becomes further compounded by the over appearance of some instruction that is the equivalent of “Let’s sit down and talk about this.” Now you’re advice scene is also a talking heads scene with all the energy-sapping curses that typically come with that. It may take you a while to figure out your character’s deal, or a proportionate move that is the right kind of “bad” or “selfish” advice. In the meantime, at least try to keep the scene physically engaged. Sure, the scene could likely work in the confines of the pair’s dorm room, but if you take that dialogue and add some activity or movement, then there’s a better chance that you might organically discover something a little out of the ordinary. Players A and B examining the text as they both walk across campus to their next class, for example, opens up so many more opportunities. “No need to text back. They’re walking towards us right now. I’m going to say something…”
Final Thought
Advice often becomes a clever (or not-so-clever) device for postponing if you’re not careful – whether you’re postponing the next big choice as a character or as an improviser.
Related Entries: Talking Heads, Teaching Scene, Telling, Transaction Scene Antonyms: Action, Showing Synonyms: Postponing, Waffling
Cheers, David Charles.
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